Chapter 4679 — The Fall

So they had to find a way to cross as quickly as possible, so that even if they ultimately failed to obtain the Thunder Mystic Vine, they would at least not return empty-handed from the journey.

It was already dusk. Though the sky was a vast smear of gray, the outline of the setting sun could still be faintly discerned, and Wei Zhao could not help but wonder just what that gray expanse actually was.

It did not look like sea mist, nor like the miasma unique to the Southern Isle; peering closely, one could even make out a trace of blood-red within it, giving the impression of cloud layers steeped in blood-qi.

It was not impossible—after all, this place was an ancient battlefield. Whatever else it might lack, it would certainly never lack blood-qi and death-qi.

Suddenly, Huo Yudie let out a soft moan ahead, and her whole body pitched to the ground with a thud, without the slightest warning.

What was going on? Wei Zhao was startled. He had sensed nothing unusual, and the jade pendant had given no warning either—what trick was the girl playing? Could it be that she still had not given up, and had deliberately fallen to feign misery and win his sympathy, so as to seize the chance to demand a larger share once the prize was in hand?

Was that not a bit too far-fetched? If he were truly someone so easily hooked, he would never have bargained with her so cleanly in the first place—what would be the point of such a superfluous charade...

Watching Huo Yudie with a strange expression, Wei Zhao merely stood there with his hands folded behind him and waited a moment, yet she simply did not get up on her own, nor did she show any inclination to call out to him for help.

Had something really gone wrong? Wei Zhao was taken aback. He stepped over to her in puzzlement, and only then did he see that beads of sweat were rolling down Huo Yudie's forehead, her face deathly pale and even tinged with a few wisps of black qi. She looked to be in extreme agony, and even her breathing had begun to grow unsteady.

Wei Zhao was startled again. A cultivator at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection could not even keep her breath steady for a few short moments—that meant something drastic must have happened to her. Yet she had only been walking normally just now, and he had detected no danger at all. Could it be that some old ailment of hers had flared up?

"What's wrong?" Wei Zhao hurriedly helped Huo Yudie into a sitting position, letting her lean against him, so that at least her breathing might steady a little.

Huo Yudie did not answer. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, her eyes vacant—she likely could not even make out what Wei Zhao was saying, let alone reply.

Wei Zhao frowned and had no choice but to examine her himself, but the moment he lowered his head, he was startled out of his wits!

Because her skirt had covered it, he had not noticed before; only now, when she shifted inadvertently, did he discover that something was clinging to Huo Yudie's calf. At first glance it resembled a small lizard, yet it had eight legs, and its head was triangular like a venomous snake's, its eyes glowing with an unsettling blue light!

What in the world was this thing?! Wei Zhao's heart lurched. Huo Yudie's sudden collapse was certainly inseparable from it, and though the creature was small, the dread and alarm it inspired were in no way inferior to those false-man vines from before—in Wei Zhao's eyes, it was perhaps even worse.

For a moment Wei Zhao was at a loss as to what to do, and just then Huo Yudie's eyes suddenly rolled back and her head drooped limply. That gave Wei Zhao a terrible fright—the girl was not going to die just like that, was she?!

He had spent so much time following Huo Yudie all for the sake of that Thunder Mystic Vine. He had not even caught a glimpse of it yet—if she were to be killed off by a mere little lizard, how could anyone bear the indignity...

Wei Zhao hastily checked Huo Yudie's breathing and found it weak but not yet entirely gone, and only then did he breathe a little easier. So long as she did not die, all was well—he counted himself a divine physician, after all, and was quite skilled at healing wounds.

Since the root of the trouble lay with this lizard-like monster, the first order of business, before treating Huo Yudie, was naturally to kill the thing. Killing intent sharpened in Wei Zhao's eyes, and without another word he threw a punch.

The punch looked utterly ordinary, yet he had already put five-tenths of his strength into it. This sinister creature had been able to bring Huo Yudie down in a few short moments—its extraordinary nature was plain to see, and it could not be underestimated in the slightest.

As the punch flew out, Wei Zhao had expected the lizard monster either to be slain by it or to turn and attack him; but to his surprise, the creature merely dodged carelessly to one side and still showed no intention of loosening its bite on Huo Yudie's calf.

As it dodged, that pair of sinister blue-glowing eyes looked up at Wei Zhao from below, seeming to carry a hint of mockery and provocation.

A mere beast, and it dared to be so arrogant! Wei Zhao was furious at once. He cast aside all carelessness, and with a low, deep dragon's roar, a small five-element killing qi burst from his palm and struck the lizard monster in an instant.

With a bizarre, shrill "hiss," the lizard monster was knocked head over heels by the five-element killing qi. Only then did it finally release its grip on Huo Yudie's calf; after rolling several times on the ground, it convulsed violently and in the blink of an eye was dead.

Wei Zhao glanced at the lizard monster's corpse on the ground. Such a tiny thing, and it had actually forced him to resort to a killing move—the ruins of the ancient battlefield truly were riddled with danger, strange and uncanny threats lurking everywhere.

After disposing of the lizard monster, Wei Zhao examined Huo Yudie's condition once more, only to find her breathing growing ever fainter. If this kept up, she might really die!

Looking again at Huo Yudie's calf, what had been smooth and fair as fine jade was now, under the moonlight, a mottled blackish-purple, and the wound where the lizard monster had bitten her was steadily oozing a ghastly black fluid, with faint signs of further decay.

"Poisoned!" Wei Zhao's heart lurched. Though one could roughly judge as much from the lizard monster's appearance, seeing the poison take effect now—and so violently—made the situation truly thorny beyond measure.

Had it been a mere injury, even one reaching the internal organs, it would have been no great matter in Wei Zhao's hands; after all, he had his all-purpose true qi.

But poison was another matter. The all-purpose true qi alone would not suffice. One wrong move, and Huo Yudie's leg would be ruined for good—and her life might well be forfeit along with it!

Though Wei Zhao was a divine physician, that was confined to the mortal realm. The myriad strange and uncanny poisons of Cloud-Tier Isle were utterly unknown to him; for the past two years he had been busy with cultivation and had never systematically studied them—especially uncanny spirit beasts like the one before him, of which he had never even heard. How could he possibly treat the disease according to its cause?

All treatment must first identify the cause, and in curing poison especially, one must first understand its nature with perfect clarity before deciding on the proper remedy—otherwise, the slightest error could well cost a human life. (To be continued) R466